‘Russia has no aggressive plans, will always prefer political settlement’ - Putin

President Vladimir Putin seen together with military academy graduates at a photo session during a reception in the Kremlin, June 25, 2015. (RIA Novosti / Michael Klimentyev) / RIA Novosti

Russia is not threatening anyone and will always prefer peaceful solutions to international conflicts, President Vladimir Putin has said, adding that military forces are still important as a guarantee of national sovereignty.

“We are not threatening anyone and we seek to resolve all
conflict situations through political means, with respect towards
the international law and other nations’ interests,” he
stated on Thursday in his speech before graduates of military
academies. Putin emphasized in his speech that Russia was an open
country, ready to cooperate with any nation on equal conditions.

The Russian leader added that he saw many challenges to the
country, including some in the immediate vicinity of Russia’s
borders. And these challenges were the main reason the country
needed strong, modern and adequately armed military force, he
said.

“This is a guarantee of Russia’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity, a guarantee of peaceful and calm life of millions of
our compatriots,” Putin said promising that the authorities
will continue the support of the military and complete the
ongoing major reform of the forces.

The president mentioned the strategic nuclear forces and space
forces as priority for active development. He also reminded the
officers that the military were regularly receiving newest
weaponry developed by Russian specialists, examples of which were
recently presented at the Army-2015 exhibition.

Earlier this month one of Putin’s top aides, Yury Ushakov, told
reporters that Russia was against a new arms race, but will duly
react to all new threats. This comment came days after the
president told Russia’s top brass that military forces will get
40 new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles
“capable of penetrating the most modern defenses” – the
statement that caused some heated comments from NATO and Western
nations.

Putin’s Thursday statement also echoes the president’s speech
before top military officers delivered in April this year in
which he also called Russia’s strong military potential a
guarantee for peaceful life and the sovereign development of the
country.

Back then he also reiterated Russia’s opposition to meddling with
other nations’ internal affairs and blamed such actions for the
major problems that had recently appeared in the international
politics.

“Today we can see that some nations are changing their policy
in the direction of unlimited preemptive actions of offensive
nature. As a result, the conflict potential is increasing in the
regions that are of strategic significance for Russia. The
threats emerge that we cannot ignore,” Putin noted.